life is a series of pictures

金刚经： 应无所住而生其心。

When I was alternating between like and dislike, hatred and love, disgust and gratitude,
when I was on the verge of ending a friendship, calling someone by ugly names,
I read the Buddhism book my mom was reading the train.
And I came across this line, again.

I feel good now.

For the past four years, I haven't cooked meat for myself.
Yet during these years, I have cooked meat on several occasions.
For a friend who was leaving and really wanted to taste my pork dish,
for a friend who was sick, who was too tired to cook, who refused to eat vegetables.
I cooked meat for them.
Meat or no meat, it was irrelevant to me;
but to them, it meant a lot.
One friend left saying he wished I had started cooking meat earlier,
another had dinner before she slept.

I shouldn't insist on any one thing, because it's all in passing, all the same.
I shouldn't mourn for my lost love, and I shouldn't rejoice over winning some attention.
But I should be kind to others, and treat them as best as I can.

My purpose in life isn't to have others make me happy. No. How long have I been stuck in this false pretense? I truly apologize to those whom I have given much trouble due to my skewed perception. Especially you, you know who you are.

My purpose is to contribute positively as much as possible, and in the process, happiness and good will shall never be far from me.


Someone told me that Jesus once said something along the lines of "If someone slaps you on the right cheek, give him your left too."
How wise.